In Gujarat, sans road, mother-to-be carried 3km in hammock

SURAT: When Karina Gunguniya developed labour pain on Thursday night, she had to be taken in a hammock for about 3km before she could be put in an ambulance.
For, there is no motorable road up to Kuylipada faliya of Dhankvad village where she lives.
With torches in hand, her family and villagers walked 3km through the forest to reach the main road for her onward journey in a 108 ambulance. The woman was later shifted to a hospital in Valsad, where she delivered a baby girl.
“The woman developed labour pain and we could not take her up to the ambulance on a motorcycle since she was pregnant and there was a fear that she would fall down. We quickly made a hammock by using a piece of cloth and suspended it from a bamboo. We carried her in the hammock for 3km,’’ said Alkesh Vejal, a labourer.
Kuylipada faliya is part of Dhankvad gram panchayat and is located around 3km away from Dhankvad in Dharampur taluka. Villagers have to reach Dhankvad by foot to catch a vehicle. There are about 2,000 residents of Dhankvad and most of them live in faliyas / hamlets spread in the forest area.
“I called an ambulance but it could not reach the village since there is no road up to Kuylipada. It was night and we could not take any chance to wait as my wife was in pain. We took her up to the road in a jholi,” said Dilip, Gunguniya’s husband.
Dilip claims that young boys and girls from the village have discontinued their studies as there is no transport in the absence of a road. The situation worsens in the monsoon when walking through the muddy patches becomes challenging.
“In the monsoon, the situation becomes worse and we are not in position to handle emergencies like this. The track that we use to reach the main road is filled with water during the monsoon,” said Dilip.
Vejal said they have made several representations for a road but nothing has happened.
Why no road in the village? Says Dharmu Bariya, member of taluka panchayat from Dhankvad: “We have made a proposal to get the road built. The proposal is yet to get approved. We are working to develop the road.”